Question:
Pistons for automotive engines can be formed either by casting or forging technique. Traditional cast pistons are considered good enough by most engine tuners and builders when it comes to standard setups. They suffer no significant drawback in terms of compression and service life. Performance enthusiasts and custom engine builders prefer the use of forged pistons because they are more durable and easily customised to any configuration, which is essential for engine tuning.
Cast pistons are made with the use of large, specialised equipment made up of a mould where the molten aluminium alloy is poured to create the piston shape. Forged pistons employ a single-cast billet of the alloy which is stamped into the required shape using a die. The shape of the die determines the size and shape of the piston. The productivity rates for both methods are different.
How do i calculate this?:
In this Question, we assume that one unit piston weighs 1.54kg. To calculate the cost per part for each manufacturing approach at different production volumes, it is important to take into consideration the materials per part cost as well as the
|
Casting |
Forging |
Cost of materials (£/kg) |
Aluminium Alloy 4032 in the form of a billet is £2.5/kg For the die casting it takes an extra £4/kg to melt the billet |
|
Capital Cost (£) |
183360 |
292154 |
|
||
Mass Wasted per Part (kg) |
0.33 |
0.51 |
What is the cost (in £ per part) for high-pressure die casting making 10000 of these parts?
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